12/29/2008 @ 11:33AM

In Pictures: New Year's Resolutions For CEOs

In March, shortly before the collapse of Bear Stearns, chief executive Alan Schwartz announced that his Wall Street firm was in glowing health. No liquidity issues here. Two days later, the company nearly went bankrupt, and JPMorgan Chase scooped it up at a fire-sale price. Schwartz was so grossly misinformed that he actually believed what he said. Your job as CEO is to know the whole, ugly truth about your operation–or at least know and listen to the guy who does–and to be straight about it.